grrrr, aaargh.

[freckles_and_doubt]

So, it's not enough that Sid has been capering round my frontal lobe in hobnailed boots since yesterday afternoon: oh, no. The cosmic wossnames have to contribute to the whole situation by waking me up this morning at 6.30 am - which is, may I point out, an hour which officially doesn't even exist on a Sunday - still with the headache, and also with the pounding footfalls and cheery, energetic shouts of mutual encouragement of a medium-sized road race coming past my bedroom at a distance of about 4m from my head. Take it from me, this is not a happy awakening experience. Right in the middle of a John Crichton dream, too.

I did manage to fall fitfully back asleep for a couple of hours, and dreams thereafter got, even for me, a bit weird. First there was the extended balletic performance I was giving across the stairs and plazas of a huge, deserted, modern city. Then there were the couscous zombies. As the daughter of the mayor of a small town, I co-ordinated a defense against some lurking, cataclysmic threat which turned out to be zombies, and which entailed holing up in the town hall. This subsequently became (a) the hotel room in which I was captured by the police for a crime I was framed for by my valet, and then (b) starmadeshadow's old flat, which I have to say is horribly designed for zombie defense - no actual doors anywhere. It transpired that eating couscous turned the attacker - I think it might have been Scroobius - into something resembling the more manic cinematic flights of Bellatrix Lestrange, causing her to lunge through the service hatch at us as we cowered in the kitchen. The dream ended on a terribly ominous note with the giant pots of couscous on the stove behind us bubbling and seething as something emerged from the depths, and I woke up thinking "Couscous golem? It'll never work!" But it's bizarre how much doom-laden spin one's subconscious can give to a glimpse of a simple granulated wheat product.

Have become v. enamoured of Naomi Novik's mad Napoleonic dragon series: review to follow when (a) my head doesn't hurt so much, and (b) I've finished the day's CV-burnishing for purposes of admin job application. Because, as you all point out, always apply. I can angst about whether to take the job or not if they actually offer it to me. Yay angst.

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

Wait, so I give you perfectly nice knitting stuff (and music, glad you like), and for this I feature as a zombie Bellatrix? Tch. Your subconscious fear of knitting may be greater than previously understood.

[extemporanea.livejournal.com]

I thought the dream was about my subconscious fear of couscous, actually. I'm not sure why you popped up in it. Possibly because you're one of the few of my friends who still has long hair, and you can't have a good zombie-woman attack without wild hair in all directions. But there may be an element of knitting fear there. Knitting is a battle. It must be subdued.

[(Anonymous)]

"Knitting is a battle. It must be subdued."

With wooden stakes. Much like vampires.

scroob

[extemporanea.livejournal.com]

Ah! Now I know why knitting while watching Buffy is really productive.

(Naturally it has nothing to do with the fact that I'm a ravening fangirl who has seen the whole shebang about fifteen times and doesn't need to watch the screen to know exactly what's going on...)

Damn, I need a Spike icon.

[bronchitikat.livejournal.com]

Knitting is fun, practical, useful, therapeutic, & there are some gorgeous yarns out there. Ok, so initially it's frustrating too. But remember, seven-year-olds master it, along with correct plurals, past participles & subjunctive clauses.

All you need to do is get in sufficient 'needle miles' to subdue the space-time/quantum stitch thingy & vanquish purling.

I'd suggest 4", or 6" squares, in as many different colours as you can rustle up. That way you'll have plenty of practise, a chart of your progress - you can even do aran or lace as you improve (!!!) Said Afghan will keep you warm, & can be folded around the years in the event of rude awakenings on another Sunday morning!

[extemporanea.livejournal.com]

Actually, I'm amazed to report that, while it's occasionally annoying, I'm still really enjoying my limping attempts at knitting. Robynn's suggestion of the Swiss Cheese scarf was inspired, it's the perfect combination of interesting and easy.

[bronchitikat.livejournal.com]

I thought it looked good too. Perfect for mistressing CO, BO, & garter stitch.

Have you sorted the multiplication of stitches too?

[strawberryfrog.livejournal.com]

a Couscous golem may never work, not even for China Miéville, but why the fear of couscous? It's rather nice, really. And easy to cook. And you can add any random veg for variation. A good, all-round comfort food.

[extemporanea.livejournal.com]

I don't have any conscious fear of couscous, I rather like it, for the reasons you give. Why my subconscious fears it is anyone's guess. Possibly a basic fear response to starch as a result of bunking gym for two weeks (owing to Sid, but still).

Besides, this was evil couscous.

[extemporanea.livejournal.com]

p.s. China Miéville has a string of graduate degrees and is ferociously intelligent - am writing paper on Un Lun Dun at the moment, and am intimidated. See interview here (http://www.depauw.edu/sfs/interviews/mievilleinterview.htm).

[strawberryfrog.livejournal.com]

In iron council he (via his character Judah Low) Golem'd anything that could be golem'd, and a few things that you thought could not. However, couscous may be beyond him.